"The day's last one way ticket train pulls in"

Another term has ended--wonderful & bittersweet. My last fiction tutorial was a bit odd--she was distracted by personal issues, which I understood, but it was a bit disconcerting in any event. She told me she had no doubt my talent "would always be guided--and not necessarily by a person either" Alright, I said. What else do you say to that? She also advised me to be wary of working in the publishing industry for a career--that it might exhaust me; sap me dry. Editors don't write books, she said. Maybe there is some truth in that. But if I didn't do that to earn money, I don't know what I would do. "I love photography," I told her. Then work in an art gallery was her response. But I hardly have the qualifications for that. It's a long way off, still.

Friday was...crepes at the French market at Gloucester Green, running into Amy & Sara (who is here visiting, before heading to Paris with me and Amy) & Fayyaz outside the Vaults & Gardens, Spice Lounge for dinner, basking in the sunshine. The Oxford Union for cocktails & the Wadham bop. Getting all the cash out of my wallet stolen; meeting Jeff's golf boys, wondering how on earth will I go back to the States/Sarah Lawrence after this year? There is nothing quite like Oxford..I don't know where else in the world you get this particular conflation of academia & exuberant debauchery; the work hard-play hard dynamic but with this total passion underneath.

Yesterday was London--walking the South Bank, which was beautiful, taking Sara to Westminster, and St. James Park, hot chocolate and belgian waffles in a cafe; a coffee date with a cute Brit who had told Jeff I had "interesting eyes." It would be nice if it came to something next term, but if not, at least it was another experience.

Today was laundry all day, 60 degree weather, packing for my month long travels. Tomorrow will be spent running last minute errands and simply enjoying Oxford. I leave Tuesday morning for Paris, and won't be back to the UK until April 14th. I'm sure I will have so much to write about when I do.